<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>first impressions by desitonystark</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25633516">first impressions</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/desitonystark/pseuds/desitonystark'>desitonystark</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>AU-gust 2020 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Vampire Diaries (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, F/M, Meet-Cute</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 09:53:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,134</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25633516</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/desitonystark/pseuds/desitonystark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Elena can't believe she's finally here. At Whitmore College. </p><p>//</p><p>AU-gust Day 2: College AU</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Elena Gilbert/Damon Salvatore</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>AU-gust 2020 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1858159</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>first impressions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsWinterBreath/gifts">MrsWinterBreath</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>for @irontinystar on tumblr!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Elena gives herself a grand total of five seconds of being an adult before she stuffs her face into a pillow and squeals, legs kicking up in excitement. <em>Whitmore College, </em>she thinks with no small glee, <em>I'm finally here</em>. It was some ridiculous stroke of luck that she, Bonnie and Caroline had been assigned the same dorm room - but both of them had elected to come up later in the week, leaving Elena to move into the dorm room on her own.</p><p> </p><p>She doesn't begrudge them their decision, even if she whined and pleaded when they initially told her. <em>'My mom's come back to town Elena,'</em> Bonnie had said with no small amount of glee, and Caroline was wrapping up a road-trip with her father. Now that she's here though, Elena is somewhat pleased about the fact that she decided to come up on her own.</p><p> </p><p>She loves Bonnie and Caroline she does, but neither of them could quite empathise with why Whitmore was so important to her, why studying at her father's alma mater had been so crucial for her. She'd toyed with the idea for months on end, going back and forth until Jenna finally set her down in front of a laptop and told her under no uncertain terms was she letting Elena study anywhere else, so if Elena wanted to go to college then she better make sure that she filled out the application before it closed.</p><p> </p><p>It was surprisingly easy after that, and almost a year later - she was <em>here</em>. She was in Whitmore, where her father fell in love with medicine, where he met his mother, where their lives began.</p><p> </p><p>She lifts her head from the pillow, and huffs. "This is surprisingly anti-climactic," she says out loud into the empty dorm room, "somehow I expected more." The dorm room is spacious, a large room at the end of the corridor with three double beds that face each other. By executive decision (and because Bonnie and Caroline aren't here to argue), Elena's claimed the bed further from the door as her own. She lays there for a couple more minutes, before pushing off and pulling up her suitcase so that she can start unpacking.</p><p> </p><p>She'd promised to not touch the interior decorating until Caroline came, but surely putting clothes away wouldn't be frowned upon? Her suitcase is heavy, almost unnaturally so because her past self had insisted on stuffing everything into one huge case instead of spreading it out like normal people do - and now present Elena was suffering as a result. It takes a couple tries, but she finally manages to heave onto the bed with a huff; and she makes quick work of the zipper - the suitcase falling open with a thud.</p><p> </p><p>The first thing she takes out is a photo of her and her parents, from her freshman year of highschool. She doesn't look anything like that anymore, but she doesn't have any more photos with them - so it has to do. She places it on the side table gingerly, shifting it this way and that before she's finally satisfied with how she's kept it. She reaches into her pocket to take a photo to send to Jenna and comes up with, nothing.</p><p> </p><p>"Fuck," she swears, patting herself down frantically for her phone, before tossing the bed looking for it. "Fuck where is it?". She spends a couple more minutes looking for it with little avail, before she reaches over to grab her car keys. If it’s not with her in the room, the only other place it can be is her car; and the quicker she can get it - the better.</p><p> </p><p>She half runs out of the room, barely remembering to lock it behind her. She's frantic, which is why he doesn't realise that there's someone coming the other way when she turns the corner and runs smack-dab into someone's chest. "Oof," she thinks she hears him say, but her hair has fallen over her face and she's flat on her back; so, she can't be certain. The back of her head is crying, and Elena absently contemplates if she can just lie here forever.</p><p> </p><p>Before the thought takes fruition however, someone is gently brushing the hair out of her face and she's met with the most startling blue eyes she's ever seen. She blinks a couple of times to clear her vision and <em>holy fuck</em>, that is easily the most attractive person she's ever seen.</p><p> </p><p>"Are you okay?" he asks, brows furrowed, "I didn't hit you too hard, did I? I wasn't watching where I was going, I'm sorry." He looks genuinely contrite, and Elena regains use of her tongue long enough to blurt out, "It wasn't your fault I was um -" she lifts up her car keys in explanation, "I left my phone in my car. I think. I'm not sure yet."</p><p>He grins at her, and Elena swears her heart skips a beat. He extends a hand that she gratefully accepts, and when he pulls her up; she's flush against him. Close enough that Elena thinks she might be able to count every single eyelash.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm Damon," he says after a beat, and brings the hand that he's still holding up to his lips and presses a kiss to her back of her palm. Elena can't help it, she blushes; and from the smirk on his lips as he looks up at her with hooded lashes; he notices.</p><p>"Elena," she returns, her tongue feeling too heavy for her mouth, "I have to um -" she trails off, but he moves back to give her way. "Of course, don't let me keep you."</p><p>Elena titters in place for a couple more seconds, trying to think of something to say that'll make him remember her, before deciding that it's been too long and running away instead.</p><p> </p><p>Her phone is in her car, just like she suspected, and Elena bangs her forehead against her steering wheel in the privacy of her car.</p><p> </p><p><em>Worst first meeting ever, </em>she thinks to herself mulishly, <em>not even an hour in and I've already embarrassed myself.</em> She doesn't know how long she sits in her car, but it's apparently a lot longer than she thought because she sees Damon exiting the dorm building just as she's stepping out.</p><p> </p><p>She has half a second to contemplate hiding behind her car before he notices her and raises his hand in a half wave, that she gingerly returns. Thankfully, he doesn't look like he's walking her way - so Elena pretends like she's busy around her car until he's turned the corner and he's out of sight.</p><p> </p><p><em>There'll be other guys,</em> she consoles herself, trying to ignore the knot in her stomach,<em> it's only the first day.</em></p><p> </p><p>//</p><p> </p><p>Spoiler alert: there are no other guys.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Fin</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>its been a really long time since ive written for them, so hopefully i haven't completely messed it up. this initially had like almost 4k to it and there was a bunch of drama (and I'd developed everyone a lot more) but I couldn't figure out how to end it so instead you get this. (who knows, if you follow my tumblr maybe i'll post the parts that didn't make the cut one day 👀)<br/><a href="https://ad1thi.tumblr.com/post/625275768339070976/first-impressions-au-gust-day-2-college-au">tumblr saw it first</a><br/><a href="https://www.instagram.com/desi_tonystark/">my ig</a><br/></p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>